Hajer Naili

Hajer Naili is a New York-based reporter for Women's eNews. She has worked for several radio stations and publications in France and North Africa and specializes in Middle East and North Africa women in Islam.

The list of things I learned while working for Women’s eNews as a reporter for four years is long and one that I could update every day. Every single action we can take moves us forward in a task that is immense.

These nine elite athletes have broken barriers and records in a variety of sports such as swimming, mountain climbing and soccer. But for some, cycling is a brand-new experience. They are riding on a team with the Persian name Shirzanan, or “female heroes.”

“It is always a win-win situation when you resolve conflicts through diplomacy,” says Sussan Tahmasebi, a founder of a grassroots effort to broaden awareness of Iranian women’s rights. “We need to have stability in the Middle East and the region and I think this deal will help with that stability.”

From early marriage and increased gender-based violence to a higher risk of death during pregnancy, the consequences post-war continue. The blockade and successive wars are also taking a toll on the mental health of Gaza residents.

News reports have made public $65,000 in political contributions of Earl Holt III, the ideological mentor of Dylann Root, Charleston, S.C.’s mass killer. The funds went to Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate and House.

Facing a culture of bribery and constant threats on herself and her family, Jamila Afghani looks back on more than five years of helping religious leaders in Afghanistan preach to women in a gender-respectful way. And she worries about her country becoming a “second Iraq.”

Given the likelihood of being harassed by any particular male source, one journalist says she cultivates many political contacts. “If you get upset with one of your sources, you can go to the others,” she told Women’s eNews. “You need to have a big Rolodex.”

They dream of a “free Palestine” and were recently in New York at the invitation of a member of the group Dream Defenders, which focuses on “disrupting structures of oppression.” The video was shot during rehearsals at their performance venue in downtown New York.

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It is being hailed as the most progressive state policy so far, going further than New Jersey, California and Rhode Island in various respects. But its showcase potential won’t be tested until the program gets going in 2018.